While I sympathize with your frustration carfar02, how could you come to that conclusion?  Nearly every single one of the 50+ items in this changelog can be traced back to user-provided feedback, some lines specifically thanking the user who submitted:

https://forums.stardock.com/522895/get;3904069

There are scores of other prior changes since Groupy 2 beta in May of this year; again, a direct result of user feedback:

https://www.stardock.com/products/groupy/history?irclickid=TuFQ7fyxyxyOTwBwUx0Mo3cgUkFTjvR2SzI3QU0&irgwc=1&im_rewards=1#:~:text=Groupy%202%20Public%20Beta%201%20(Released%2005/10/2023)

Even the most casual glance at prior Groupy beta and release threads illustrates our activity and how dedicated we are to engaging our clients:

https://forums.stardock.com/518687/groupy-2-public-beta-feedback-thread

https://forums.stardock.com/520648/groupy-2-public-beta-2-feedback-thread

https://forums.stardock.com/520796/page/1/#replies

https://forums.stardock.com/521400/groupy-21-beta-feedback-thread

https://forums.stardock.com/521553/groupy-21-release-feedback-thread

https://forums.stardock.com/521947/groupy-211-beta-feedback-thread

https://forums.stardock.com/522895/groupy-212-release-feedback-thread

Of the issues you detailed, how many are not an issue if FreeCommander is not used (not installed)? If you can reproduce it at will with FreeCommander not in use (uninstalled if possible), please provide exact steps we can use to recreate it - including what native Windows applications (or MS Office) to test with. Accompanying video is always welcome. 

I do see this when opening CP from any location.  However, that follows suit as CP is an instance Windows File Explore itself:

Regards,
Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

What concerns me is that it may still have a service running.  If its not too much trouble to uninstall it, reboot, and try again, that would be very helpful.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

KeePassXC automatically attaches itself to Microsoft Excel instances, and moving said, opened, Excel windows to whatever monitor KeePassXC opens on. When KeePassXC is closed, the Excel windows then stay on that new monitor.

Further, the ability to exclude KeePassXC windows from Groupy is missing from the top menu bar, while it's present for all other applications that I've run across.

In addition, when manually adding KeePassXC.exe to the exclusions list in Groupy Settings, the behavior is exactly the same. Please help.

The "Focused background bar : Custom color" is not respected; it is always "Mica style" regardless of the setting. I have "Apply the tab color to integrated tabs in Windows Notepad and File Explorer" checked.

Windows 11 - 22635.2700; Groupy 2.12  (This was also the case on non-insider releases.)

pelaird

There is a subtle issue that makes it nearly impossible to resize a window from the top when "add a background bar to the tabs" is enabled (the default).

Groupy v2.12 - windows 11 - 22H2 (OS Build 22621.2506)

Video is the easiest way to understand the problem...

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEw-QZTaAz0

Explanation: When I mouse to the top of a non-tabbed window (with no bar), the top-resize target appears within 3-5 pixels above or below the top edge of the native window, but then a moment later, the Groupy background bar-appears and it takes over the the activation area for the top-resize for any pixels above the native window edge (because they become a click target for the background bar instead).... this makes it virtually impossible to grab the top edge of the native window. However, trying to then go for the top edge of the background bar is equally hard, because if you mouse just a pixel above the top edge of the background bar, it quickly disappears. Try it. Be frustrated.

I recommend two fixes: 

1. make the Groupy background bar *not* grab mouse-over events for the bottom 3-5 pixels of the background bar (aka just above the native window top)... This will allow the native resize bar to work normally on the native window edge.

2. make the background-bar watch mouse events for ~10 pixels *above* the groupy background bar, and consider them valid for keeping the background bar active (don't start timing out the background bar until the cursor moves *more* than 10 pixels above it)

Thanks for Group2 , I don't know what I would do without it.

Carfar, please post an example and repro steps with native Windows apps (calc, calendar, Edge, File Explorer, even MS Office apps would be fine, etc).  FreeCommander and Thorium are tools most don't use and we need to be able to readily use your repro steps to verify issues.

That is not to say we cannot \ wont address issues with those apps, we may, but we need to see that any reported issue is worth the time to address (if it's possible at all). 

Thanks,
Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

I would disagree and I suspect everyone who posts to StackOverflow, Reddit, etc would as well.  The wealth of knowledge that is preserved forever there \ here is simply invaluable.

What you pointed to, a general feedback thread is more of a MASH unit, to triage issues and, yes, get them into new threads when the problem is more complex or unique.

If your issue remains, by all means, please create a new thread with all the details you can provide (Windows version, appa and their versions, repro steps, and most helpful, images and video). 

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Auto-grouping feedback.

(1) Please give us a way to use the really easy saved-group UI features (like right clicking on a groupy tab to add to group) for groups which auto-add windows to group. 

(2) 

Why?

The only reason I ever made a saved group in Groupy1 is to auto-add windows, but Groupy2 saved-groups do not auto-add windows. The UI for saved groups is really really nice and easy, where I can just right click on a window-title to add it to a saved group... But the UI for "group rules" is super clunky and I have to manually go into groupy settings and muck around with it to get windows to save to a custom-rules-group (with auto-add functionality)

Most of the windows in my auto-add groups automatically start on login, so there is no way for me to "launch" the group of windows which are already started, as seems to be intended with the standard groupy2 saved-groups feature.

How?

One option is to provide a toggle per saved-group for "auto add windows to this group when launched/found". 

An even better option is to merge the saved-group and custom-group-rules features into one thing, so when I right click a groupy titlebar and "add to group" it's adding to the single group list.. and I can setup whether each group is auto-add or not, and if I want, edit the window membership using the "custom rules" stuff even if I originally started it by using the simple "create group with these windows" feature.

Quoting carfar02,

reply 41

This screen recording is of some apps you are more familiar with. They do not follow the rules either.

Stardock Apps Auto-Grouping

My understanding is that 3 levels of rules are broken in order for these apps to auto-group.

1. The box is checked so that identical windows auto-group unless they are already in another group. I can only take that to mean that non-identical windows should not auto-group and is the case in the screen recording.

2. The box is checked so that CTRL must be held down in order for new windows to auto-group. I didn't do that in any case. At the beginning of the screen recording, there were no open windows and I opened each app with Listary.

3. As a last resort, we have the rule to define apps that should never auto-group. I can only take that to mean under any circumstances. Only Microsoft Store doesn't have one of these rules applied, however, it still broke the first 2 regardless. Fences, Groupy, and Windowblinds all grouped together upon opening and all 3 have the explicit rule to never auto-group.

I've asked for clearer definitions of the rules but was met with only silence.

Have I misunderstood what any of these rules mean? I look forward to learning how to make them work for me if so, but if not, please give this problem the attention it deserves. I'm not the only one who has complained of this behavior out of Groupy.





 

I believe "Never automatically group" means "Automatically exclude from auto grouping all 'App Name' windows." Which indicates that windows that belong to 'App Name' will never be grouped together.

Sean,

I've given you the evidence again, including several of your own programs such as Fences, Groupy, and WindowBlinds. I also show Microsoft Store. But these programs do not adhere to the rules I have set up. So far, you've completely ignored this evidence you specifically asked for and which further supports my belief that getting support from Stardock is difficult. I don't know what else to say because every time I provide evidence, there is never any direct conversation about what might be the problem. Am I creating the rules incorrectly? Is Groupy truly not following the rules I've set up? I don't know because the conversation is never held, I'm always met with an excuse or silence.

Currently, I can't use Groupy because of how it groups windows together in a manner that is incomprehensible to me.

It's in the post... Listary.

As noted, we need to eliminate all other 3rd party software (where possible) from the equation, Carfar.  That does not mean that if it is shown to be the cause we cannot accommodate it, rather, we need to know what the root issue is. 

I can demonstrate that the rules are functioning as detailed:

Automatically group identical windows...
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/2023-11-28_11-52-41.mp4

Automatically group identical windows unless excluded:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/2023-11-28_12-04-23.mp4

Group newly opened while Ctrl held:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/2023-11-28_12-19-41.mp4

While there are some windows where it fails with ('Modern Windows' - the VPN settings and calc in that example, ), it does function as expected.

Group newly opened while Ctrl held only if not excluded:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/2023-11-28_12-10-45.mp4

That one has some mixed results but it could be a timing thing (how long 'newly opened' is for example), as you can see it works at the end.  It would also be rare that you tell Groupy to exclude the app but then do so when Ctrl is held. Again, it could be a timing thing but I will look into it.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Hello, is there anybody out there?